Thunder loses another key player

STOCKTON - The road trips to Alaska are always challenging, and it just became tougher for the Stockton Thunder.

Scott Linesburgh

STOCKTON - The road trips to Alaska are always challenging, and it just became tougher for the Stockton Thunder.

The franchise found out Wednesday it will be heading to the Great White North without leading scorer Harrison Reed, who was loaned to the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League. The Thunder plays the Alaska Aces at 8:15 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 6:05 p.m. Sunday at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, Alaska.

Reed, a center who has played 194 AHL games, is the latest in a growing list of leading scorers and quality players who have moved up to the AHL and left Stockton coach Matt Thomas scrambling for replacements.

The Thunder lost to Bakersfield 4-3 on Tuesday, took Wednesday off and fly to Alaska today.

"This hurts, especially after losing (Tuesday) it doubles the pain," Thomas said. "It makes this weekend even more critical for us."

The Thunder lost top players such as Toni Rajala, Philippe Cornet and Ryan Martindale after the NHL lockout ended Jan. 6. The Thunder's offense took a serious hit, but Reed was anchoring a line that was helping it recover.

He has a team-high 21 goals and had a seven-game scoring streak when he was called up. He had 12 points during the streak.

Reed led a productive line with Matt Reber and Max Boisclair, who has a point in six of the seven games he has played since signing as a free agent Jan. 24.

Thomas said he is still deciding how he will change his lines in Reed's absence.

"We're in scramble mode, and the first thing we're going to do is see who we can bring in," Thomas said. "Then we'll go from there."

Stockton (24-18-) was swept in a three-game series in Alaska in December, but the Aces (32-11-5) have also lost plenty of talent after the lockout ended, including four current NHL players.